A long time friend asked if I could build some cabinets for his daughter. Her house was one of the many that flooded during Hurricane Harvey. We went to look at the house this past Sunday. Every house in the neighborhood had debris piled up on the sidewalk. As I think back, I realize now they were actually pretty lucky. Water did get in the house but would recede after the heavy rainfall would let up. Then it would rain again...and again...

 

As it turns out, his daughter wants to remodel the kitchen with an entirely different lay out. I think this caught Chuck by surprise. He had already told me he would be paying for the cabinets. So, to keep this story short, I took notes and measurements of the existing layout, but dang it, I forgot to take pictures. Oh well.

 

She wants to demo the pantry and relocate the fridge in that spot. Build a new pantry where the fridge sits now. It juts out into the walk through, and she is not a petite person. All bottom cabinets would have drawers instead of doors, and that I agree with wholeheartedly. With cabinets demoed, the new ones would go to the ceiling after the fir down is removed. And she wants a white kitchen. UGH! Oh, I forgot. Then end cabinet on the stove side would be a trash can pullout.

 

Before going into any great detail and creating a job quote, I decided to draw up what she is asking for. I sent the drawings to her last night. I also asked if they knew anyone that could do the demo and frame up the new pantry and close in the old one after a wall is taken down....relocate the electrical and water supply for the fridge and tape float the drywall. I would rather just stick to building cabinets.

 

For a small kitchen, this would greatly increase her usable space. A new cabinet above the fridge would provide good storage for the big gumbo pot! That is where our pot resides. And on the sink side, the upper cabinet on the left can be widened (as indicated) because there is blank wall space that was never used. And no breakfast bar. The pony wall is there just no bar top. Chuck said he was going to put new granite counter tops on the cabinets, so that would be a nice touch. The current rang and vent hood are circa 1979 harvest gold!

 

I guess it is wait and see for now.

Mike

Note: The Sketchup drawings show the new layout. I didn't bother with drawing a cabinet over the window or the vent hood, but they would be there.

Edited September 19, 20178 yr by MT Stringer

Sounds like a pretty neat project. More useable space is always nice

Mike,

Did you or the daughter consider a cabinet pantry instead of having one built from dimensional lumber and sheet rock.  I believe a cabinet pantry will hold more items and be more attractive.

Danl

25 minutes ago, Danl said:

Mike,

Did you or the daughter consider a cabinet pantry instead of having one built from dimensional lumber and sheet rock.  I believe a cabinet pantry will hold more items and be more attractive.

Danl

 

Her first thought was "we don't even need a pantry". But she recanted that thought because there may come a day when they want to sell the house and a pantry is almost a must in my opinion. The one I drew is the same size as the one in our house. Small but effective.

 

Thanks

I will keep the thought of a cabinet pantry in mind.

Mike

Personally I like the sheet rock with normal door. You get more footage and can hide things. My wife works at Bed, Bath and Beyond and is constantly bring home new appliances that don't fit well in normal cabinetry.

 

As far as the cabinetry, a panel on the frig  is better with  than without. Will keep things neater  and keep things from falling behind it..

.

I design houses now after my attempt at woodworking. Over 60 now.  Pantries are very important to the females engaged in buying another home.

 

Most of my designs are walk-in pantries.  The smallest being about 5' x 5' with an angled door.  A large Pantry also allows a kitchen design to be more open and less hanging cabinets which are not cheap.

 

Larry Jenkins